(I wasn't sure if I should post this one or not since I'm sure someone will start screaming that it's to early to talk about the draft since there is an extremely remote chance that we can still make the playoffs. However I thought it was an interesting article so I decided to post it anyway. If nothing else it's something different to talk about.

Mods feel free to move this to the draft talk section if you wish. I figured if I did post it over there no one would notice it since I willing concede that it's extremely early to talk about the draft. - mesa)

Steelers Picking in the Top Half of 2010 Draft? The NFL Should Be Scared
Nick Signorelli
Senior Analyst
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/307894-steelers-picking-in-the-top-half-of-draft-the-nfl-should-be-scared

As the Steelers 2009 season continues to crumble, the word "Steelers" is being used as a punchline to all of those teams that hate the Black and Gold.

The haters are coming out of the woodwork. Keep laughing, it won't be lasting long.

Pittsburgh is assured of finishing the 2009 season with a record between 6-10 and 9-7. That means, come the 2010 NFL Draft, the Steelers will be picking between No. 10 and No. 14.

(Can you hear the chuckling?)

Teams that are certain to be picking prior to the Steelers? Cleveland, Buffalo, Kansas City, Oakland, Washington, Detroit, Tampa Bay, and Saint Louis.

(Can you still hear the chuckling?)

Teams that are certain to be picking after the Steelers? Indianapolis, New Orleans, San Diego, Cincinnati, New England, Jacksonville, Denver, Dallas, Philadelphia, the New York Giants, Minnesota, Green Bay, and Arizona.

(Can you still hear the chuckling?)

Teams that will probably be picking after the Steelers? Miami, the New York Jets, Baltimore, Chicago, and Atlanta.

So, for argument sake, lets say the Steelers will be picking at No. 12.

It is not often the Steelers pick in the first half of the draft. How do you think the Steelers do when picking in the top half of the draft?

2004: No. 11, Ben Roethlisberger

2000: No. 8, Plaxico Burress

That's right, since Kevin Colbert took over as the GM of the Steelers, those are the only two picks that Pittsburgh has had in the first half of the draft.

Oh, but Bill Cowher is coming back to the NFL and will be taking Colbert with him when he goes. That is what I thought as well. Adam Schefter just had a report on ESPN that people close to Colbert have stated that his loyalty towards the Rooneys exceeds his loyalty to Cowher. Colbert will be back in Pittsburgh.

If you are still laughing at this point, then you really don't understand football.

Remember this, it was only one short year ago that this same "joke" of a team won the Super Bowl, and it has only lost two starters from that team. This team has the personnel to once again rise to the top. Only this time, they will be armed with more talent.

Being slotted at No. 12, the Steelers even have a chance to trade up. Twice in the Steelers history they have traded up for players. Once was in 2003, when they traded from No. 28 to No. 16 to take USC safety Troy Polamalu. The other time was in 2006, when they traded from No. 32 to No. 25 to select WR Santonio Holmes from Ohio State.

Both of those trades were made by Kevin Colbert. If there is a player that Colbert and Tomlin want, they could easily trade into the top 10. Teams are quick to want to trade out of the top 10, because most of them have been picking there, and financially, it is hurting them.

Here are the top 12 players coming out in the NFL draft.

No. 1: Ndamukong Suh, DT, Nebraska

No. 2: Jake Locker, QB, Washington

No. 3: Gerald McCoy, DT, Oklahoma

No. 4: Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma

No. 5: Eric Barry, CB, Tennessee

No. 6: Russell Okung, OT, Oklahoma State

No. 7: Dez Bryant, WR, Oklahoma State

No. 8: Carlos Dunlap, DE, Florida

No. 9: Jimmy Clausen, QB, Notre Dame

No. 10: Taylor Mays, S, USC

No. 11: Trent Williams, OT, Oklahoma

No. 12: CJ Spiller, RB, Clemson

Take out the quarterbacks, because Pittsburgh will not draft on of those. Take out Dez Bryant and CJ Spiller, Pittsburgh will not draft those positions this early. After drafting Ziggy Hood in the first round of the 2009 draft, Carlos Dunlap should also be ruled out.

That leaves the offensive tackles, defensive tackles, and defensive backs.

Here is my mock draft as to how the top 10 will unfold.

No. 1: St. Louis, Jake Locker, QB, Washington. Lets be honest, Mark Bulger is not going to lead this team to the playoffs, ever. The rule is that if you don't have a franchise quarterback, you draft one, and that is what the Rams do.

No. 3: Kansas City (Trade with Lions), Dez Bryant, WR, Oklahoma State. The Chiefs desperately need a play maker on offense, and have to trade up to take him from Cleveland.

No. 4: Cleveland, Eric Barry, CB, Tennessee. An instant upgrade to their defense, the Browns take Barry because Bryant is gone.

No. 5: Seattle (Trade with Detroit), Jimmy Clausen, QB, Notre Dame. Matt Hasselbeck is way past his prime, and the Seahawks need someone to lead this team into the future.

No. 6: Buffalo, Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma. A new coach is going to want to have HIS guy to build the team around.

No. 7: Washington, Carlos Dunlap, DE, Florida. Washington has had defensive line issues for years, and bringing Dunlap in will give them one of the best fronts in the NFC.

No. 8: Oakland, Taylor Mays, S, USC. Al Davis loves speedsters and hitters. Unless they decide to play smart, and start to protect the passer, Mays is their guy.

No. 9: Detroit (Trade with Kansas City and Seattle), Russell Okung, OT, Oklahoma State. After drafting a franchise QB last year, they continue building the line to protect him.

No. 10: San Francisco (from Carolina), Sergio Kindle, OLB, Texas. One of the best pass rushers in the draft, Kindle will team nicely with Patrick Willis and Manny Lawson to replace the now retired Jeff Ulbrich.

If Pittsburgh decides to trade up, who would the likely trade partner be? In my opinion...

No. 7: Washington, Taylor Mays, S, USC. IF Pittsburgh believes that Mays could be the next Polamalu, don't you think they would be willing to jump ahead of the Raiders for the man to replace Ryan Clark?

If they decide to stand pat, they could land either Trent Williams, OT, Oklahoma, Russell Okung, OT, Oklahoma State or Terrence Cody, DT, Alabama.

Williams could start on the right side of the Steelers offensive line, to replace Willy Colon. Terrence Cody would be the replacement for Casey Hampton in the 3-4 defense.

Anyway you look at it, the Steelers will be adding a first round talent that could one day be considered one of the best in the league. Does it hurt to lose so many games in one season? Yes. Is it worth it if we restock to once again be one of the best teams in the league? Absolutely.

So, keep laughing! We like it that way. We are consoled by the six Lombardi Trophies in our trophy case, a case we will have to expand again in the near future.

MJ5150

12-13-2009, 10:04 PM

You have a few assumptions in there on who is and who is not coming out early.

Until everyone declares, it is really hard to start predicting who we will draft.

-MIke

AlleghanyAdams87

12-13-2009, 10:24 PM

Unless they can get Eric Berry, they may trade back for Mount Cody. Just say no to Taylor Mays. Cody in Round 1, Spikes in Round 2. Two needs filled their. Cody may start from day one as Hampton did. This is all provided he gets with the conditioning program early.

Shellshock

12-13-2009, 10:39 PM

Take a QB don't want to end up like Denver.

JEFF4i

12-13-2009, 10:43 PM

Tim Tebow! Haha, I only kid.

casteeler

12-13-2009, 10:47 PM

man wouldn't it be nice to trade up for the number 2 pick and then get suh, what a defense then!

Steel-Bryan

12-13-2009, 10:57 PM

CB AND MLB, thats all we need, and 3rd round well take a FS maybe or a DT

Shellshock

12-13-2009, 10:58 PM

Tebow could be a good asset eg. TE RB QB he has a will to win.

madtowndrunkard

12-13-2009, 11:19 PM

I have a strange feeling we'll be trading down, not up.

Steel-Bryan

12-13-2009, 11:25 PM

Tebow could be a good asset eg. TE RB QB he has a will to win.

Never

stillers4me

12-13-2009, 11:27 PM

I have a strange feeling we'll be trading down, not up.

The top ten draft picks are mighty expensive.

Nadroj 20

12-13-2009, 11:41 PM

The top ten draft picks are mighty expensive.

All the more reason in my opinion to have a rookie salary cap. No clue if it'll happen though.

MasterOfPuppets

12-14-2009, 04:05 AM

this may have been the projected top 12 BEFORE the season started , but it sure isn't now.
taylor mays is all but worthless in pass coverage. 0 interceptions this year 1 last year and a grand total of 4 for his entire college carrear. he's a big hitter and good in run support, great speed for his size, but isn't a playmaker in the secondary. he didn't improve his game from last year to this year. he'll be a strong safety in the NFL...we already have strong safety ,troy. i doubt he goes top 20, but its hard to say with al davis.
carlos dunlap already has the lazy tag on him. plays great one week, doesn't show up the next. just got a DWI and isn't even of legal drinking age. some draftniks think he'll fall out of the first round.
trent williams hasn't lived up to his preseason hype. look for bruce campbell from maryland to shoot up the boards after the combine.( if he comes out )
CJ spillar is a good back, but probably not top 12 good.
joe haden is by far the top cb...he'll go top 12 along with lber roland mcclain

Galax Steeler

12-14-2009, 04:52 AM

I really don't see us trading up I think we will stay where we are at and get us a good pick where we are at.

Rick5895

12-14-2009, 05:16 AM

If Cody is available when we pick, thats who should come here, as for trading up, can't see it. If Cody is gone then I can see a trade down for an extra 2nd and extra 3rd.

markymarc

12-14-2009, 01:05 PM

I just want to see us go defense early and often. It's all about making this defensive even stronger and younger.

steeltheone

12-14-2009, 01:19 PM

I just want to see us go defense early and often. It's all about making this defensive even stronger and younger.

Agreed....Bye Farrior, Smith...

mopit55

12-14-2009, 02:12 PM

we need an inside linebacker so rolando mcclain but mount cody at nose tackle is sure for the future.don't forget also,a very good cornerback is the answer for the pass coverage and taylor mays (safety) is not an answer so in the second round we can have many good players.

MJ5150

12-14-2009, 08:31 PM

.....he'll go top 12 along with lber roland mcclain

McClain is a junior. He hasn't declared his intentions for next year yet.

FYI.......Jake Locker announced today he is coming back for his senior year. Take him off your draft boards folks.

-Mike

d2609j

12-14-2009, 10:26 PM

Don't the Patriots have the raiders 1st round pick for the Seymor trade??

SaskSteeler

12-14-2009, 10:31 PM

No, the pats have the raiders pick for next year

Psyychoward86

12-14-2009, 11:20 PM

if u think about it, our safety situation is getting a bit fragile. With Troy Polamalu being so injury prone, we have to prepare for the worst. Clark has been adored in Pittsburgh since he got here, but people are stoning him all of a sudden because of our lack of a pass defense. He's having a bad season, but at least he's playing better than our CB's. Clark is 30, so he's still got a solid number of years left, maybe less if he keeps throwing his body around with those menacing hits. Who do we have behind them, Carter and Mundy? I guess it depends on how Mundy develops...